Let PN lead Sabah and Putrajaya, Kiandee urges Sabahans

Bersatu vice-president Ronald Kiandee says Sabah voters are still undecided, ahead of the polls on Nov 29.

PUTATAN: Bersatu vice-president Ronald Kiandee has urged Sabahans to vote for Perikatan Nasional at both the state and federal levels, saying Sabah’s revenue entitlement can only be enforced if PN forms the government in Putrajaya.

He said PN had taken a “principled position” on Sabah’s rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963. “Let us be the government — the federal government that respects what is written in the Federal Constitution on Sabah’s revenue entitlement,” he said.

“For that to happen, it requires cooperation with the federal government that will be formed by PN. This is our starting position, and this is the stand we will hold,” he told reporters after PN launched its manifesto.

Under the constitution, Sabah is entitled to 40% of state-derived federal tax revenue that exceeds a 1963 benchmark. However, the federal government has paid the state a “special grant” based on an agreed formula since 1974.

On Oct 17, the government was held to have acted unlawfully and beyond its constitutional powers in failing to fulfil Sabah’s rights to tax revenue for the years 1974 to 2021.

The Attorney-General’s Chambers has since announced the government would challenge “defects” in the grounds of judgment.

Kiandee said many Sabahans were still undecided about how to vote on Nov 29 but were weighing their options, based on unresolved basic issues such as water supply, electricity outages and poor governance.

“We see good momentum, but we will continue engaging voters who are angry with the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah government. People will judge based on the problems they face daily,” he said.

Kiandee said Sabah had gone through five difficult years under the outgoing administration, and PN’s manifesto was crafted to signal the coalition’s seriousness in raising governance standards and delivering long-delayed reforms.

However, he expressed confidence that voters would evaluate PN seriously in the final days before the polls.

“Why vote for PN? Because we are serious. We want to improve the standard of state administration to a much higher level,” he said. “We are offering the best we can. This manifesto reflects our commitment to addressing the failures of the past five years.”

PN is fielding 41 candidates in an election marked by a record 596 contenders from 24 parties, with 1,784,843 voters eligible to vote.